A secure stop for pot?

After voters this month legalized medical marijuana, an Arizona businessman is opening an office in Natick, hoping his biometric dispensing system becomes the standard used in Bay State dispensaries. Bruce Bedrick, CEO of consulting firm Kind Clinics LLC and manufacturer Medbox Inc., said it prevents people from obtaining marijuana fraudulently.

"It’s completely foolproof," Bedrick, a chiropractor, told reporters gathered at his new office on Speen Street Tuesday. "Medbox is the safest, most secure, most legally compliant way to store, dispense and inventory (regulated medication)."

The state plans to issue up to 35 dispensary licenses, and Bedrick said he hopes his system will be used at each dispensary.

Customers receive a recommendation from a doctor and then obtain a state-issued medical marijuana identification card. That card may work with the Medbox system, or if not, patients would receive a purchasing card, he said.

When they come to a location with a Medbox, they swipe their purchasing card through a machine and allow the machine to scan their fingerprint, ensuring they are the cardholder. Employees cannot access the customer’s allotment, which is dispensed from a separate machine, until that process is complete, according to company videos and materials.

The patient never contacts the machine that dispenses the marijuana, Bedrick emphasized.

"This technology is behind the counter," he said.

It also connects with state databases and ensures a patient is still authorized to receive marijuana and has not exceeded state dispensing limits.

Hedi Heilman, president of the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance, which opposed legalizing medical marijuana, said there is an issue ensuring a person who receives medical marijuana does not later sell it to others.

"There’s a certain street value to this product," said Heilman, who lives in Wayland. "We already have highly, highly, highly controlled prescription drugs in our state and we have a very enormous problem with prescription drug abuse among young people and our adults."

Heilman said she is glad to see local leaders already having conversations about how to address issues surrounding legalized medical marijuana.

"This is something that I think we’re unprepared for," she said. "Many people are unaware the learning curve (to develop appropriate regulations) is huge."

Bedrick said diverting marijuana away from its intended user is an issue with prescription drugs.

"Marijuana is currently all over the street," he said. "This is an opportunity to regulate and control it."

Bedrick said he hopes to work through Kind Clinics with people seeking to run a dispensary to help them obtain licenses and approvals and build and equip a dispensary, which Bedrick said resembles a doctor’s office.

While marijuana is a focus currently in Massachusetts and the company has more than 120 machines in use at marijuana dispensaries around the country, Bedrick said the product is also gaining popularity for use with other medication.

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"We are really trying to change the way people acquire medicine," he said.

Brian Benson can be reached at 508-626-3964 or bbenson@wickedlocal.com.